Cuddy's Serenade
by Klara Papkin
Summary: What’s the true behind ‘Cuddy’s Serenade’? Will it remain a secret? Huddy.


**Summary:**What's the truth behind "Cuddy's Serenade"??? Will it remain a secret? Huddy.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own House, nor do I make any profit.

**Author's note:** This is born as a one shot. The story could develop further in future. All my thanks to My Great Beta Reader that helped me fixing this fiction.

**Chapter:** **Cuddy's Serenade**

He's home alone this evening. Wilson is still working, so it's basically the usual bachelor plan: Chinese take out, some drinks, TV and Vicodin, followed by laying on his sofa for hours, almost falling asleep, but not really.

He's in the middle of opening a box of noodles, when a knock interrupts him.

"Someone better be dying!" He screams loudly in the direction of the door. He sighs and limps over to his cane, walking over to it. It's a big surprise to see Cuddy standing there, looking nervous.

House opens the door suspiciously, "What are you doing here?" He asks, realizing how harsh that sounded.

Cuddy looks up at him, wringing her hands. "Hey House…can I come in? I need to talk to you."

"Anything that can wait until tomorrow?"

Cuddy smiles warily. "I'm tired of waiting." She says quietly.

An interrogative look flashes in his eyes before he steps aside to let her come in.

She takes her coat off and tosses it on the sofa. She looks strange, he thinks. The look on her face is a combination of anger, embarrassment, hardness, and softness. Was it just stress or something else? Was she hiding something?

She looks down at her feet. One is tapping on the floor. House is the first who breaks the silence.

"So what are you here for? Are you in some sex emergency?" He asks sarcastically.

Now she stares at him straight in the eyes, glare full of fire.

"Stop it House! Just stop it! That's _precisely _what I'm here for. I can't play this game with you anymore. You can't toy with my feelings and always throw them away in the garbage. I can't stand it any more!"

House stares at her, hiding his faint shock. "You've _always _liked this game, admit it!"

Cuddy stares at him angrily. "No I haven't."

"Oh yes you have! You adore being pissed off and pretending to be shocked. I know you!"

"You don't know a single damn thing about me." Cuddy replied venomously.

"Oh, oh, oh. The baby is getting excited!" House said sardonically. "You come to my place and yell like a witch… do you even _know _what you're saying? Now listen, go home honey and sleep on it. Tomorrow will be another day."

Cuddy threw her airs up in exasperation. "Another day of what?" She asked, raising her voice.

"Of what it always is. Of pissing you off. What else is there?" He said rolling his eyes.

After a full second of silence, Cuddy replied, "That's precisely what I needed to know. The match is over, House. I give up with you."

House looked confused. "You need to… I don't understand you. We've played from college time."

"You are ridiculous, House! Just grow up. At least now I have the _proof _that you don't have any sort of feelings for me."

"Are you high?" House asked childishly.

Cuddy gave him her best 'are you serious' look. "But what about you?" – She asks as she smells him – "Of course, as always, you smell like the inside of a pharmacy and liquor store!"

She turns around on her heels, fed up and ready to go. But he grabs her arm before she takes a step, and she turns back to look at him.

"Wait! Where are you going, Cuddy?"

"Where I belong. Home."

"And you're leaving like _this_?"

Cuddy did her best to shrug, though it's difficult with House's grip on her arm. "You always were one for the dramatic exits, weren't you? Besides, what difference does it make?"

It was House's turn to shrug. "It just does."

Cuddy shook her head, "You can find other play mate, House. I'm out."

"But Muuuuuuuuum!!!!!!!!" He uses his puppy dog look tactics now. But he immediately realizes that that was obviously the wrong step to take. Her face turns redder at the second, and her eyes are angry. He lets go of her arm.

"You see? You _still _continue to not understand! For you this is just a game…but for me, this is real. My feelings are real, and so am I! I'm not a doll, Greg. I'm made of flesh and blood. Can you feel it?" – She places hand on his right arm. – "And what you're doing- what you insist on doing- it hurts. I don't _want _to suffer. I don't _want _to be miserable. I want to live. I want to love. And be loved. And you can't." She gently pushed him back with the same hand she had on his arm.

"You always knew I was miserable." He finally said after a pause.

"God, House! You are _so_ egocentric. All you and your ego can think about is yourself. But you weren't always miserable. I remember that."

"When?"

Cuddy felt tears prickle the back of her eyes. "Those times you used to hold my hands without a reason. Those times you used to talk about yourself freely, those times you weren't scared to open your heart. Those times you used to play some music when words weren't enough." She said softly.

"You really think things are so different now?"

Cuddy frowned. "Are you kidding, or is this your new way of being cruel. The past is in the past, House."

House shook his head. "I still write and play my music."

"And what exactly does this have to do with me?"

"Listen."

He walks towards his bedroom. His slow movement makes her think that his leg is hurting even more now. That usually happened when he was worried. And when he didn't know how the events were going to play out.

He grabs a folder from his library, a logo of the University of Michigan on it. Upon opening it she sees that it was full of sheet music. When he finds that one he is looking for, he goes in the direction of the piano and sits down. He looks at Cuddy for a moment. The look on his face is one of disappointment, but he knows that it's better speak through music than through words. At least during times like these. He starts to play a piece Cuddy never heard before. She moves to the piano and sits down on the bench next to him. Now she has a clear look of the sheets of paper in front of her eyes.

Cuddy can't believe what it says at the bottom of her. Is a title. House's calligraphy on it. Clear. Pure. In his way… elegant. There's her name there. Is not true. Is not real. _'I'm just imagining things'_, she thinks.

The piece is called "Cuddy's Serenade".

House plays it beautifully, as he always does. But there's something different. Is seems like he really meant what he said…played, rather. There are feelings in there. Is this another trick?

Cuddy unconsciously scoots closer to House as he plays. The music stops after a while, and the two remain seated in silence.

Cuddy is still elaborating the motive in her head, what is this supposed to mean? He looks at her, quiet for once, waiting for her reactions.

Cuddy slowly turns her head to him, an overwhelmed look on her face.

"You… you… you wrote me a serenade?"

"I did." He answers simply.

"Why?"

"To be forgiven."

"But you weren't gonna play it for me…"

"That doesn't matter." He said with a shrug.

"What did you want to be forgiven about?" She asked cautiously.

"For being an ass."

"But…you…you're never sorry." She said; mystified

"People change. But for the record, I truly and deeply am."

Cuddy smiled slightly. "When did you write it?"

"When I was supposed to be at your baby's ceremony."

Cuddy sighed thoughtfully, "So why didn't you just come?"

"I remember you didn't want me there."

"I did." She whispers and grabs his hand. They stare at each other, no one wanting to ruin the moment.

Finally House sighed. "Cuddy I'm sorry but…I'm not good for you. I'm a jerk and you don't deserve it. You _know _you can do better. Get out of here and be happy."

Cuddy shook her head in disbelief. "What if I don't _want _to do better? You're pushing me out of your life."

A pained expression passed over House's face, and this one wasn't because of the leg. "You were doing it yourself before."

Cuddy raised her voice. "_Before_ I didn't know anything about this!"

"Lisa, It's just a piece of music."

"_I_ think is something more than that."

"Do you?"

"Why don't you just _say _something?"

"Wasn't that enough?" He asked, pointing at the music sheets on his piano.

"_That _can mean anything or everything. It depends on you. I'm not in your head."

"It means…anything." He said after a moment.

"So I'm still nothing for you."

"Au contraire. You're everything for me."

"You just contradicted yourself. Do you _want _to see me mad again?"

"No." Was his short answer.

"So what's the good of showing me this? I'm everything and anything and SO WHAT? What do you want from me House?!?" She asked, on the verge of tears.

"I told you. Go out of here and live your life. I'm not going to change."

"I never asked you to change."

"Yes you did. Yes you are! You want a caring lover and I'm not capable to give you that. You should just walk away, Cuddy. Hell, you should run! I don't want to hurt you. I love you too much to make you suffer because of me."

Cuddy opened her mouth in shock. "What did you just say?"

"Go home, Lisa."

Cuddy turned to face him. "House, do you love me?"

"Go home, Lisa." He repeated firmly.

Cuddy shook her head. "Are you in love with me, Greg?"

House turned away from her. "Go home, Lisa."

"Are you talking about love?" She wasn't going to let him walk away from this conversation.

"For God's sake, Lisa! What I'm supposed to do to make you understand that I'm in love with you?? I've been in love with you for years! But I'm scared to death of ruining everything, don't you understand that? _You _are the reason I wake up every morning. I've always loved you! And you know what, even cheating on you is better than nothing. I don't know what you want me to do? Do you want me to scream that I love you?!? How can you be so blind? Have you got any idea how many times a day I'm just tempted to hold you in my arms and kiss you???"

"Then why don't you?!? " She asked, putting her hands on either side of his face. Now they're just a few inches apart and looking in each other eyes.

"Is not rational." He puts his hand on her wrist.

"You wanna stop being rational, just this once?" She asked, her eyes twinkling.

House finally meets her soft lips. First lightly than hungrily. Cuddy responds with all the passion she's kept inside for years. When they finally take breath House notices that Cuddy's eyes are sparkling with tears.

"Cuddy… I…"

She laughed a watery laugh. "Just say it."

He takes a deep breath and finally spits up what was, until then, just a melody hidden in the depth of his heart.

"I love you." He said quietly, as he kissed her once more.

"Greg?"

"Yes?"

"Can you play it for me again?"

House smiled. "You're the only one I could play for."

House starts to play, and the beautiful notes of Cuddy's serenade fill the room. Cuddy stands up and wraps her arms around House's neck and places her cheek on his head.

What happened this night was simply… everything.


End file.
